Circus Monsters
by coldstone4815
Summary: They were the freaks—the outcasts. They were the ones that hid away in caves and jungles. They were just the secretive monsters of society. And each one of them knew that if they let their secret slip, it would end in death. Death of their friends, their family, and them. So it was best to stay quiet, follow the lead, and stay in line.
1. Chapter 1

**So I had an idea. And it started out as just another one-shot, but then it grew and I made it a short story. To all my ****_Miles and Inches _****readers, forget about the canons in there for the time being. They don't exist here.**

**Summary: They were the freaks—the outcasts. They were the ones that hid away in caves and jungles. They were just the secretive monsters of society. And each one of them knew that if they let their secret slip, it would end in death.**

**Rated: T for cursing.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**-The Cursed One-**

_"Dance, dance, dance," _you chant, cackling and watching as your—nicer, smaller, weaker—counterpart scrambles backwards, eyes wide with fear. "Please," he whimpered, as if that would keep you away. "Please d-don't."

Another laugh and one of your shoulders hitches up. _"Oh, but Martin," _you croon with a bloodied grin, _"Your suffering is funny to watch."_

You take one hobbling step forward, then trip and fall nearly on top of him. Even though you could snap someone's neck with just a twist of your hand, you lacked coordination. You could hardly take five steps without falling. But then again, every villain had their weakness, and yours was no exception.

Bodil scoots backwards to escape your grasp, shaking his head frantically and whispering, "No, no, no, no! Stay away from me."

You laugh again, trying to crawl forward. _"Martin," _you fake-cry, copying the voice of one of his friends, _"Martin, why did you leave me? Why, Martin, why?"_

Bodil shrunk away, clasping his hands over his ears and shaking his head, orange eyes squeezed shut. "No! Stop, stop, stop it!"

You lurch back when he kicked at you, nose crinkling into a scowl. He peers out from under his hair, backing away again. You growl, digging your fingers into the soft blackness of the carpet and dragging yourself along. Your legs make a half-hearted move, as if to push you along, but you eventually stop a few feet from him, glaring up at him with acidic eyes. _"What are you looking at, runt?" _you hiss, baring your blood-stained teeth.

"A m-monster," he says, trying to reply strongly. But his voice wavers and you sneer at his weakness.

_"Who's the real monster, huh?" _you whisper in one of his friend's voices. You try to recall their name—Bako or Bika or something (the snowman, you think. It must have been that silly, nosy snowman)—and prop yourself up, once again reaching for him.

But just as your fingers brushed his pants leg, he woke up.

[...]

Bodil shot up with a scream, hands flying up to his head. He stared at the cave's wall with wide, glassy eyes, and slowly blinked. He didn't look around; he didn't have to. By now, the utter darkness in which he lived his life was normal. And besides, he had already grown accustomed to the cave. It was small, sure, but kept out the rain and elements of the wild.

There was a shuffling sound and he whipped towards it, hand searching for something to throw at the raccoon (by the soft pitter-patter of its feet, and the sound of its fluffy tail ghosting over the floor told him it was a raccoon. It was too heavy to be a squirrel, and too light to be anything bigger). He grabbed ahold of a rock and, with surprising accuracy, hurled it towards the animal.

The raccoon fell to the ground, blood leaking out of the wound on its head, where the sharp edge of the rock had hit it.

Bodil took a moment to get his heart rate down, then stood and walked along the wall. He trailed his fingers along it, feeling the bumps and cracks and trying to memorize them even more than he already had. He had a knack for memorizing. It was one of his few strengths, but was usually drowned out with his weaknesses. Even though he wasn't blind while he was asleep, his inability to see during his waking hours was a huge downside to his everyday life. there were so many things wrong with him—from the blindness, to the orange foggy eyes, to the demon inside him, to the small, weak muscles he was born with—everything was wrong with him.

Bodil walked outside, lifting his face to the dark, dark, endless sky and feeling the sun on his face. He sighed slightly, and his lips twitched as if to lift into a smile. But he hadn't smiled in ages. Not a true smile, anyways.

_"Hehehe."_

Bodil grunted and lifted a hand up, rubbing his temple. The demon rarely ever spoke to him outside of his dreams (the word 'nightmares' worked better), and the most Bodil heard was laughing.

The blind man ground his teeth together and leaned against the cave wall, bowing his head. "I hate you," he muttered vehemently. "I hate you, and I hate them."

_"Heh."_

* * *

**-The Alien-**

Ghost knew how to do many things.

Scaling buildings with only one hand and a foot and a half, listening in to a conversation halfway across the world, and most importantly, growing the extra appendages this body came with.

It had been thirty-eight years since his kind had been officially terminated. As far as he knew, he was the only one alive. This made living slightly tricky, because usually his kind lived in groups. But then again, that had also been their downfall. They had all been found in one campsite, and had been slaughtered on sight.

He still considered himself lucky that he had looked so much like a human newborn that some nice people had taken him in.

Damn his slow aging.

He sniffed and wiped his nose with a glove, trying not to gag on the muggy city air. This was, by far, the worst thing about humans. The pollution they pumped out; that, and the murdering of his family.

Ghost rolled his shoulders, and a few golden plates on his back folded away. His suit was something special—made to be worn by only the bravest of warriors of his kind. He had found it in a museum, and had taken the liberty of taking it and fixing it up with his immense knowledge of robotics (he had been born with them). Over the years, he had tweaked it here and there, until it was perfect. Now, with just a few subtle body movements, he could control the whole thing as if it actually grew from his body.

He crouched on the ledge of the building, shoulders still hitched up near his neck. He let out a sigh and rolled his head. Spines suddenly shot out of his back. The webbing grew between them, and they folded down. As they did so, the plates on his suit moved to their correct position. When the transformation was all done, the long spines had formed into a fan-like thing. He gripped the longest spine with his hands, standing up and spreading his arms as he jumped off the building.

The wind caught under the webbing, and he let go of the spines as the plates on his arm move to hold them. He swerved into the air, using his momentum to swoop around a building. As he flew, his suit of armor would shift and move, allowing the webbed spines that grew from his calves and forearms to turn as he wished them to. Another few spines grew form his back again, and he used the fin as a stabilizer in the air. The fins on his arms and legs shifted and furled closer to his body, and he glided smoothly through the air.

Eventually, he kicked his feet forward and landed on the side of a building. His fingers curled onto the ledge of the window he was hanging from, and with one strong push he flung himself up the building.

Being an alien could sometimes be very, _very _useful for getting around.

Because right now, he had someone to meet. And he was already running late.

* * *

**-The Twins-**

"Where are we going."

"I thought you knew."

"I-I only know what you know."

"Well, that's stupid."

"I-I know, right?"

Ty closed his mouth when a few people looked over at him. He hunched his shoulders, tugging his white hood further down.

That's right, keep walking. Nothing to see here. Just one crazy teen talking to himself, nothing abnormal.

"I-I think we should see a doctor."

"I agree, but if we do we're in huge trouble," Ty answered himself. The second person he shared his body with cleared his throat and said, "Well, still.."

But that wasn't really an argument.

In fact, the two of them (One or two? Two, maybe? Or, perhaps just one?) always brought that question up. Be it Ty 1, or Ty 2, it was _one _of them that suggested it, and the other that always said no.

That was how things worked with them. They didn't agree, and they kept each other out of trouble. Because two twins living in one body couldn't be a good thing, no matter what. Sure, the extra brain power and the extreme knowledge of math and science was a wonder to have throughout school, but the headaches that accompanied them was nigh intolerable.

Like the one that was forming now.

One of the two sighed and reached up, brushing some of their red-brown hair out of the way and pushing the shades further up their nose. These were his savior—just a plain pair of reflective glasses. They hid his eyes. They hid the acidic green and the neon red.

Ty took a deep breath and hurried on, glancing up a bit. He was to meet Ghost at the park around noon, and it was 12:15. Chances were they were both running late, so he wouldn't feel bad unless Ghost was the one on time.

"You know, Ty, I think it would be best if we could actually keep track of time. It would be really useful."

"Look dude," the other muttered (usually, he was the one in the most control. The other was smarter than he was), kicking a rock and stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "I really don't care. It doesn't matter that I'm late; Ghost promised to meet me and Bodil in the park a week ago, and neither of them showed up."

"Don't you think that there might be a problem, then?"

"Bodil's gone missing," he answered himself, "None of us have heard from him."

"... Not even Sky?"

At the question, Ty grunted and ducked his head, a deep scowl forming on his face. "Don't bring him into this—not in the current state he's in."

The second hesitated before saying what they both were already thinking, "But at least _he's _alive. We don't know about Bodil. That demon of his could have just offed him in the middle of the night, and nobody would know. Sometimes, it seems like a good idea to just stick together. Sky and Ian seem for it."

"Well you know how Ghost is, being all picky about how we should live and everything. And you know what they say..."

"What? What do they say?"

Ty frowned and hesitated, glancing up at the sign hanging on the iron gates to the old park. He paused for a moment, then shook his head and pushed open the gates, walking into the lush park.

"Well?" the second prompted, still waiting for the answer. For some reason, his twin was hiding the thought from him.

Ty once again sighed and looked up as Ghost dropped down from the sky. "They say to just follow the lead," he muttered, then smiled and turned to Ghost as he walked over.

Because that was how their world worked. You smile, ignore whatever was thrown at you,, take the blows as you always did, and hid your secrets from everybody else. You hide because you're scared. You're scared of being found out, which means the government. And police. And the military. And guns. And oh, god, it means _death._

Death to your friends, family, and loved ones.

And most of all, death to you.

So it was best to stay in line.


	2. Chapter 2

**-The Twins-**

"What do you mean, you haven't seen Bodil in _four weeks_?!" Ty shouted, flinging his hands out in agitation. He paced back and forth in front of the alien, muttering back and forth to himself.

"I-I don't think it's a good idea to get angry, Ty," the second said to him. He shook his head, glaring over at Ghost.

"Hey," Ghost said, lifting his gloved hands and gesturing for him to calm down. "I thought he would turn up eventually, just-"

"Just _what_?" Ty snapped, bristling. "He's blind and weak, and he's _gone. _This multiplies our chances of being caught by..." He ran the math through his head, and then spat out, "23 percent. We have now a 34 % chance of being found, Ghost, all because of this one-"

"We'll find him," Ghost said, voice dropping. The glow coming from behind his helmet brightened slightly and he said darkly, "He couldn't have gotten far."

"Yeah, maybe if he had only been gone for a day or so, but it's been a _month_!"

"Ty has a point," the other said, "I-I think it's a good idea to go searching for him."

"Well, how are we gonna do that, Thing 2?" Ghost said, using the nickname that both of them hated with a passion. "We can't go waltzing around with our spines showing."

"Well, you seem to be doing a good job at that," Ty said, gesturing to the spines that were still connected to his arms. "This park might belong to Mitch and Jerome, but that doesn't mean that nobody's gonna come in."

Ghost sighed and shook his head, muttering something under his breath. The spines and webbing shrunk into his back once again, and his armor folded down over the bony spine that he had. "Look, guys, I'll figure something out."

"Well, you better hurry," the second said, taking on a hint of anger from the first. They usually shared emotions; it was just another tick of theirs. "I-I'm not sure I-I like the thought of him all alone with that curse."

"None of us do," Ghost muttered, and turned his back to Ty. "None of us."

**-The Mutt-**

The breath rattled in his chest as he tried to draw air into his lungs. Someone was running their fingers over his curly hair, but his eyes were closed and he couldn't tell who it was.

After a few moments of the two sitting in silence, the person said, "You were an idiot, Sky."

One side of Sky's lips curled into a smirk, showing off the serrated teeth he had. "Yeah?" he croaked, striking gold eyes opening slightly. He turned his head to look at MunchingBrotato. "Was I, Tyler?"

Tyler nodded, one cat-like ear flicking. "Yeah, you were. And still are."

Sky tried to chuckle.

Key word there is _tried. _What would have been a friendly, light-hearted chuckle came out as a pained, throaty bark. He grimaced, lifting one hand to set it on his ribs. "Can I leave now?"

"No," Tyler said, shaking his head and looking to the left, scrunching his cate-like nose up. The whiskers that grew from his face twitched, and his pupils constricted. "Seto says you can't. Not yet, anyway."

Sky grunted and sighed, dog ears folding back. After a moment, he said, "Any sight of him?"

"Nobody's seen Bodil ever since he hurt you and Baki," Tyler answered.

"Speaking of him, how is he?"

"Nearly melted," Tyler answered briskly, and looked away. He took his hand off Sky's forehead and sighed. "He hasn't woken up yet."

Sky took a deep breath and nodded, closing his eyes. "I... I'm still surprised Bodil even had the strength to do that to us."

"Same here."

Sky laid there for a moment, sometimes opening his eyes to stare at the white and blue ceiling. After a moment, he slowly started sitting up. Tyler glanced over and helped him, holding his back up with one hand. "You really shouldn't be sitting up," Tyler reminded him, casting a glance around the room and watching out for the sorcerer.

"Let's act like I can," Sky replied, reaching up to rub an ear. Like Tyler's, they grew from the top of his head, but they were mostly hidden by his unruly and fluffy hair. He shifted, trying to get his tail out from under him. "Where's Seto?"

"Had to run and get something for Baki," Tyler replied, gesturing over to the snowman. Sky's gaze traveled across the room to Baki, shoulders slumping at the pale figure.

Baki's snowy white hair hid most of his ghostly face, but the blackish purple marks around his throat were hard to miss. Being part snow golem, Baki didn't heal as fast as he should have. He couldn't take many hits, either. So when Bodil's demon had somehow worked up enough strength to gain control, beating the poor snowman to a pulp was easy enough.

"Hey, you shouldn't be sitting up."

Sky flinched at the voice. It was easy to be intimidated; the half-Ender dragon's voice never changed, no matter what form Seto took. Be it human or dragon, his voice was always deep and echoing—and when he was mad it sounded much like nails grinding down a chalkboard. But Sky hid his flinch and said, "But I'm nearly healed, Seto."

"Your lungs are still screwed up, Sky," Seto muttered. He usually talked quietly, seeing that his voice could very well burst someone's eardrums. "I can hear them rattling from here."

"Not my fault he tried to drown me," Sky muttered, giving a feeble cough and falling back onto the pillow. "When can I leave?"

Seto gave a shrug, walking over to Baki. He set a bowl of some kind of powder on the table sitting next to the snowman's bed, reaching in with his purple-clawed fingers and grabbing out the pinkish dust. "When I say so."

"Guys!" The door slammed open suddenly and Jerome came bounding into the room on all fours. He skidded to a halt on the slippery tile floor, padded feet sliding. "Guys, come quickly!"

"What's wrong?" Seto asked, holding his fist over Baki's head and not letting any dust slip.

"It's- it's Mitch," Jerome answered breathlessly, standing up. "Some guys tried to mug him."

"Crap," Sky muttered, and tried to sit up.

"No Sky," you stay here," Seto snapped, making the other three in the room wince at his loud tone. He sighed and said quietly, "You're still injured, stay. We can't afford you to die now, so-"

"Hey! I'm the one leading this place," Sky shouted, voice rasping as he sat up and swung his legs over the bed. "So-"

"If anybody's leading this place, Ghost is," Seto cut him off, setting the pink powder (it reeked of magic) back into the bowl and covering it with a lid. "For the entire month, he's been running this place better than you have. So you just stay the hell in bed, and let us sort this out."

Sky's shoulders hunched and he growled, ears lying flat.

"Maybe he's right, Sky," Tyler said, pushing him back down. "And besides, you're gonna rip your stitches if you move around too much."

Sky sighed and let his head fall back, closing his bright eyes with a scowl. "Fine," he muttered, crossing his arms gently over his chest. "Whatever."

**-The Cursed One-**

Bodil felt around the cave for his cane, hoping that it was somewhere near. He couldn't remember where he had put it, and going out without it was something he couldn't even fathom.

Finally, his fingers brushed the wood. He rejoiced and grabbed it, fingers running over the familiar carvings that he had put in it. He knew it was made of spruce wood (it smelled of sap and pinecones) and he knew each and every curve—every kink and bump—in the (probably) ugly wood. He felt up its length, grabbing the handle at the top, and tapped it across the ground.

Now to find that raccoon.

He felt along the ground, happy now that his cane was in his hand. He always felt so much stronger with it. Because, not only did it help him get around, it was also a conduit for his powers.

Suddenly, the end of the cane hit something soft. Bodil sniffed and squatted down, reaching out and running his fingers over the fur. He grabbed the raccoon by the tail, then stood and walked to the opening of the cave. When he was there, he set the dead animal back onto the ground and tapped his cane on it.

He didn't need to see to know what was happening. There was no doubt that beautiful, rainbow-colored daffodils and lilies were sprouting up around the raccoon. He knew, because he could... It was just a _feeling. _He knew that they were all tie-dyed flowers of all sorts. He knew that the leaves were always a lush green, and the stems were bright purple. The grass grew later, and shifted like vines. It curled over and gently touched the raccoon's wound. After a moment, Bodil could hear the animal start to stand. It shook its fur out and padded away, fluffy tail swishing over the ground.

Bodil brought up a slight smile and followed it. It was time to keep moving. Staying in one place wasn't good—someone would find him.

So he walked and walked, cane waving in front of him so he wouldn't run into anything. After a while, he felt the sun disappear and he knew he was either in a forest or in the shadow of a mountain. His cane tapped something and he paused, reaching out to run his fingers over the bark.

Definitely a forest, thank Notch. The last thing he needed was another mountain to scale (which wasn't exactly easy, seeing that he was blind).

He reached for his pocket, trying to find the button to his phone. When he did, he held it down. It beeped and the female, robotic voice asked "What can I help you with?"

"What time is it?" he questioned, putting the phone back in his pocket when it said, "4:16. March 3rd, 2014."

He would need to find something to eat soon.

Bodil heaved a sigh and kept walking, using his cane to keep from running into the trees. Though, there were a few times he hit his head on a branch that hung too low. But mostly, he was fine.

That was, until he tripped over a root and hit a rock. He cried out and grabbed his shoulder, pain lancing up and down his arm.

Sometimes being blind sucked.

**-The Twins-**

"I'm gonna go search for him."

"I-I don't think that's a good idea, Ty."

"Well, I don't care."

"I-I do."

Ty growled out a sigh and hunched his shoulders, hands balling into fists. "Look-"

"Ty, shh. Don't look now, there's someone watching us."

Ty instantly fell silent, trusting his twin to do the same. He cast a quick glance around and, indeed, there was a guy watching them (him? Them?) He looked fairly poor, and probably homeless, but there was no doubt that his eyes were trained on Ty and Ty only.

The twins swallowed and hurried on, ducking their head and walking across the street. He didn't dare look back, even though the man's stare burned holes into his back. When they were far enough away, the second muttered, "Do you think he knows?"

"I think so," the first responded, stuffing his hands into his pockets and halting at the bus stop. He glanced back to where he came, casually acting as if he was looking for the bus. To his surprise, the man had started following. "Oh yeah, he knows."

"Crap. We can't go home. What are we gonna do?"

"I'm thinking," Ty muttered, gulping when the man kept walking towards him.

A grimy, hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder. Ty tensed, eyes shooting to the dirt-crusted fingernails.

"I know what you are," the man hissed. Ty looked up at him, playing the confused card. "Wh-what?"

"You're one of _them_." The man glanced around, watching as the bus rolled towards them. He looked back at Ty, bushy grey eyebrows furrowing. He looked the teen up and down, then forced him forward with a strong hand. The two climbed onto the bus and the man dropped a few coins into the payment slot. He pushed Ty to the very back of the bus. Only one teen was on the bus at the time. But he had headphones on and Ty could easily hear the music quite clearly.

The hobo sat him down in the very back seat, then sat down next to him, blocking his path to the bus aisle.

The bus' door closed and it started with a jerk, rolling forward.

The man looked over to Ty, who tried to look out the window. After a moment, the man reached forward and nudged his shoulder. "Hey," he whispered.

Ty bit his lip to keep both of them quiet, and glanced over at him.

"My name is Tom," he said in a slight Russian accent, holding out his gloved hand. Ty looked down at the grimy fingers, and the uneven cut glove, then back up to him.

After a moment, he reached forward and said, "We're Ty."

"We, huh? So you're one of those twin people?"

Ty nodded with a frown, nose crinkling at Tom's bad breath.

"Hmm," Tom hummed, and rubbed at his square jaw, fingers scratching the stubbly beard he had. Now that Ty was close, he saw that Tom was actually pretty old. The hair that poked out from under his trooper hat was grey, and the wrinkles on his face were deep.

"You're old," the second said, and Ty quickly clamped his hands over his mouth.

Tom laughed, though. It was a thick, hearty laugh that told Ty that... maybe he wasn't as scary as he seemed, despite the scar running over his right eye. "You two are funny ones, aren't you?"

Tom patted Ty's shoulder and leaned over, whispering, "I used to have a friend like you. She was a crazy one, I'll tell you that."

"What do you want form me?" Ty asked, frowning at him. "How did you know I'm-?"

"Let's say I'm one of you, alright?" Tom said, ending his question abruptly. Ty's frown deepened and Tom gave a shrug and a smirk. "Now, I'm gonna let you go. But next time I see you, kid, I expect to see some of your friends."

He reached over and pushed the stop button, then stood and got off the bus, leaving Ty more confused than ever.

**-The Alien-**

Ghost grunted and heaved himself up onto the roof. He collapsed there, feet still dangling over the fifteen-story drop he had previously climbed up. Sometimes, he wished he could actually _fly _instead of glide. Flying would be useful.

Especially since he was going to tell everyone that he and Ty were going to go find Bodil.

He sighed heavily and crawled the rest of the way onto the roof, shaking his arms. "Sometimes, I swear," he muttered, and hesitated before reaching up and pressing a button on his helmet.

It shifted and folded back, back, back, until it rested along his neck. He reached up and rubbed a hand over the fins he had for ears, scratching one of them before running his hands through the dark emerald green feathers he had for hair. He had sharp features and high cheekbones, which were common for his kind. His eyes were fairly large, though—made to see in the dark.

Even though he didn't _need _to see in the dark, seeing that this planet had a sun and a moon, whereas his had nothing but stars. That was what he remembered of it, anyways.

He remembered screaming, and someone holding him close as they ran to one of the few escape pods left. He remembered something bright in the sky—the usually star-filled sky. It was bright and red, but at the time he hadn't known what it was. After all, he had only been twelve days old.

Ghost shook his head, running his fingers through his hair again and sighing. His skin was tinted a light blue, which was a few shades lighter than the webbing that grew in between his dark green spines. He was still unsure as to what earth animal he took after. Simon always said he looked like a fish (and he did have gills, he just didn't use them). Seto had classified him as some sort of mythical being he had never heard of before. Sky always called him a frog, and joked that Kermit was his brother. But the person who was probably closest had to have been Bodil, who said he looked more like a lizard.

Ghost took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders, letting the spines grow out and fold to his sides. He grabbed the end of each one, then let go and let his armor take ahold of them. With a slight nod of his head, his helmet shifted back around his face and concealed his features from the rest of the world. He bit his tongue and moved his fins flat against his head, knowing that it hurt when they were pulled or crushed.

And with another sigh, Ghost ran to the edge of the building and jumped off, swooping into the direction of the secret base that all the freaks lived in.


	3. Chapter 3

**-The Cursed One, 1 month prior-**

_"Let me out let me out let me out let me out."_

"No no no no no no no no no!" Bodil screamed, collapsing against the wall with his hands clamped over his ears. "Leave me alone, leave me alone!"

_"OUT OUT OUT OUT. LET ME OUT, RUNT."_

Bodil whimpered and for one fleeting moment, he couldn't feel his hand as the demon managed to gain slight control. He furiously shook his arm, getting the curse out of it and back into his head. "Stop," he sobbed, pulling at his hair. "I won't let you! I won't."

The demon let out one long growl; it pierced through his head and rolled through Bodil's limbs, making him flinch and curl into a ball.

He had completely forgotten where he was, and where his cane was, so getting out and calling for help wouldn't work. He was against a wall, and probably in some sort of bedroom of the living quarters. And he dimly wondered as to why nobody _heard _him.

But just then, just as the demon was starting to take control and it took all of Bodil's concentration to keep him from taking over, the door slammed open.

A soft yelp, a high mewl, and a drip of water.

Sky, Tyler, Baki.

And his concentration snapped like a fine wire under the pressure of forty elephants.

The curse surfaced with a howl of glee and a burst of light and color. For one second, Bodil _saw._

Sky's hair was a disheveled brown, and his ears were lying flat to his head with his tail tucked between his legs. Baki was a stark white with bluish lips and inky black eyes. His hair looked feather-soft, and shifted in the breeze from the vent nearby. But his eyes were wide with fear and concern. Tyler's ears were a soft grey-tan, matching his fluffier tail and skin. His blue eyes were wide, mirroring Baki's.

But then Bodil was thrown into the dark house that the monster resided in inside his mind.

But the pictures of his friends remained emblazoned in his mind. And he knew that whenever he thought of his friends again, that one picture would flash into his head and stay there.

[...]

You went for the snowman first.

You jump up and try to go for him, but your legs give out and you end up in a zombie-like crawl, dragging yourself across the floor with unnatural strength. From underneath your touch, the floor rotted and turned a dark reddish-black, eroding away much like a withering effect. But it kept going, eating across the floor at an alarming rate.

You brought death.

Sky was the one to move first. He grabbed Tyler by the shoulder and shoved him out of the room, twisting around and trusting Baki to follow them. But you had already wrapped your hand around the half-snow golem's ankle, and you had yanked him down to the floor. You were quick to start choking him, fingers stealing the air away from his throat.

"B-B-"

Your grip tightens and his words end in a squeaked gag. _"Shh," _you hiss, leaning in and nearly touching noses with him. _"Shh."_

Just when he looked to be passing out, you relinquish your grip and punch him.

Snow golems were weak. Naturally, they could be killed with just a swing of a stone sword. Baki was no exception.

He was easily beat up, and just when you were about to end him, someone ripped you away from the snowman. You screech and twist around, trying to claw at the dragon. But your fingers hit scales, and you're suddenly looking up at a fully transformed dragon.

Seto rears his head back and tries to bite you in half, but you quickly scramble away, leaving a trail of inky black and red behind you. The floor erodes away as you run. You scramble around a corner with purple acid being spat at you.

Only to run into Sky.

You collapse on top of him, easily locating the sword that the mutt had in his hand. You toss it away, and claw at his chest. Sometimes, you wished you could have claws. But sadly, you don't, so you have to make do.

The dragon roars and suddenly cracks are spreading across the walls as Seto tries to squirm his way after you. For one fleeting moment, you're glad that you're underground. Otherwise, you're fairly certain that the whole building would be crumbling by now.

You drag Sky down the hallway, stumbling over your own feet. You don't really know _how _you managed to stay upright, but you did it. You take a glance behind you to see Seto craning his neck back; his jaws were opening wide and dripping with purple acid. He's surprisingly close, and you quickly yank Sky into the nearest doorway.

And you two stumble into the indoor-outdoor area. You look around for lava, or something that could end someone's life.

What you spot was a small pond.

You grin wickedly—knowing exactly how well Sky could swim and exactly how the water, to the mutt, was like poison. You drag him over and dump him in, but he quickly yanks you down with him. You cry out, and but suddenly the sound is muffled by water. You wisely close your mouth, and twist around to kick him in the ribs. A muffled crack sounded through the water, as well as several pops from one of your ankles.

Sky cries out, a flurry of bubbles escaping his mouth, and recoils. His hands go down to grasp his sides in pain, and you aim a swift blow to his ribs again, but this time you try to rip his shirt away. You needed to get to the skin to use your powers; clothing and armor were resistant to the touch of death.

And your fingers graze flesh. With a wicked grin, you jab forward and the deed is done.

Suddenly, a giant black and purple paw has wrapped around you and tossed you out of the pond. You screech, trying to reach for the dragon. But Seto dances away, inhaling deeply. His lips are curled back over his teeth, which were dripping the toxic Ender acid. His tongue was pressed to the top of his mouth, to prevent the acid from eating at it, showing off the small tear-duct like things that spit the toxin. You think there's a name for them, but you can't really recall what it is.

Seto's left paw was lifted off the ground, though, with water running down it. There were painful sizzling noises coming from his scales, but he didn't seem to really care. You two stand there for what seemed like years, but could have only been seconds. You see his gaze dart to the pond and you grin. He didn't want to turn his back to you, but he also needed to save Sky from drowning. That was a dilemma.

_"Go on," _you hiss, _"Let your friend drown and let me escape."_

And, with regret and rage in his eyes, Seto does. He turns, swinging his tail wide to make sure you couldn't get near, and plunges his hand into the pond. The sizzling noise grows louder and he grunts, but quickly pulls Sky out and sets him down.

When the dragon turns around, you're gone.

**-The Alien, present time-**

Go left down one alley, then backtrack and go right down the one next to it. Press a button, go through a maze. Down another alley. Through a building. Over a river, then go down and into the sewers. Keep going, turn left, then right, then two more lefts, until you backtrack all of it and turn left before going right, then after going right, turn left, but before turning left you have to go right. Then you scale a building, then go down another, then go into the basement of the fourth apartment building to the right, then backtrack the last two directions, then turn left after going another left. After going another left turn right then left then left then right then left.

And then you're at the secret base.

"We really need a better entrance for this," Ghost muttered to himself, rubbing one of his fins-for-ears. He heaved a sigh and shook his head, helmet folding back over when he let his hand drop. "I don't feel like running around the entire city only to-"

"Watch out!"

Ghost yelped and stumbled to the side, glaring at Jerome and Mitch. "Hey, I was walking there..."

Mitch was settled on the werewolf's back, blood oozing out of the corner of his mouth. His reddish eyes were half-open, and his lynx-like ears were flat against his head.

"What happened?" Ghost asked, running after them.

Jerome cast him a short glance, dark eyes unreadable. He skidded around a corner of the sewers, then stopped and let the alien press the invisible button (curtesy of Seto) and padded into the base when the wall folded back. "Seto told me to bring him to the infirmary," Jerome panted, finally slowing down to talk to Ghost. "He was attacked on the street by this gang—you know the ones who've been trying to get this place for a while. Blamed us 'mutants' on the loss of 'territory' and stuff. They attacked him; because the cowards wouldn't dare try to get us all in one go."

Ghost nodded, well-informed on the growing rivalry between the nearby gang and the base. Even though the delinquents didn't know where the base actually was, they just wanted the sewers. This, in the end, would reveal the location. There had been many fights, but so far nobody had died. The alien planned to keep it that way. "Is he alright?"

"Don't know," Jerome said, waiting for him to open the doors to the infirmary. Ghost did so, eyes glancing over the new paint that he had helped Ian put on a week ago. The whole wall had been busted down when Seto had given chase to Bodil, and they had just gotten it repaired. "Probably, but there's gonna be a few nasty bruises."

Ghost nodded, holding the door open as the werewolf quickly padded into the infirmary. In his wolf form, Jerome's head reached to their shoulders. He usually maintained a human(ish) form, just to fit in a bit more, but he was always most comfortable with what he had been born with.

Ghost glanced around the room, noting that Sky was sitting up and not unconscious. The eroding power Bodil had was something serious, and, to be honest, Ghost hadn't been entirely sure that Sky would make it. But he did, and eventually things would return to normal.

Right?

Yeah... of _course _things would return to normal.

Ghost would glide around, playing hide and seek with Baki, Bodil, and Ty. He could actually go out and fish, and gather resources for everybody in the base. Things would return to normal and Seto would stop having to heal people, and he could move back into the (albeit small) library. Things would be fine, and everyone would be happy.

"Put him here," Seto said to Jerome, patting one bed and already uncorking a bottle of healing. "Then go get some bandages."

Jerome nodded and padded over to the bed, sliding Mitch off his back and onto the bed. He gave the half-lynx a concerned sniff, one ear flicking, then went and rooted in a cabinet.

Not turning to him, Seto said, "What is it, Ghost?"

"Have you seen Ty? He and I are going out."

"On a date?" Seto asked, and for one second, one side of his lips lifted into a playful smirk. This was, by far, the most emotion anybody had ever gotten out of him.

"What? No! We're going to go find Bodil."

The smirk was gone, as if it had never been there. "Oh," the dragon muttered, and there seemed to be some venom in his voice. "Well, no, I haven't seen him."

"Well-"

"I-I'm here!"

"No, we're here, idiot."

"I-I think it's just I-I, right? I-I mean, we're only in one body."

"But it's _we._"

"I-I-"

"Alright," Ghost yelled, "Stop bickering, god. Ty, I need you to go with me."

"Where are we going?" Ty asked, raising an eyebrow. He glanced over at Mitch and started to ask, but then stopped himself and shook his head. People in the base were _always _getting hurt. It was normal. Especially with the government out for everybody–

"To find Bodil," Ghost said, interrupting his train of thought. Ty's eyebrows hitched up, and he opened his mouth.

But the second quickly said, "To find _that _crazy guy? I-I don't think so. As far as we know, he could be captured or something. I-I don't want to meet the same fate."

Ghost shook his head, waving the second away. "Well, you don't have a say in the opinion."

"Of course I-I do!"

"So we're going whether you agree or not, alright? Ty, we're leaving in an hour."

Ty sighed slightly and nodded. He didn't really like disagreeing with his twin, but he wanted to have Bodil back. "Is anybody else going with us?"

Ghost hesitated, then turned to the door and said over his shoulder, "You can ask two people to come with us. But please, make sure they won't kill us on the way."

Ty snorted slightly and nodded, smirking. "Alright, will do."

**-The Twins-**

"Hey," Ty said gently, kneeling down and speaking through the small slot at the bottom of the iron door. There was a shuffling from inside, and then the person stuck their face against the grate.

"... What?"

"I'm gonna go find Bodil; do you want to come with us?"

Two nitro green eyes snapped open, and the cat-like gaze met his. For a moment, the person seemed to pause, and then he said distantly, "I miss Bodil."

"I know, we do too. And you're our best tracker, so –"

"Can I eat if I go with you?"

Ty bit his lip and thought for a moment, staring down at those (seemingly) innocent eyes. "Well..."

"They have not been feeding me much."

"I-I promise, if you go with us, you can eat."

The eyes lit up and there was a pleased rumbling, like that of a large cat's purr. "You two are very kind to me."

Ty nodded and shifted his weight. "But there are rules, okay?" he said in the whisper-soft voice.

"Okay, what are they?"

"You can't kill anyone, you have to listen to me _and _Ghost, and –"

"Oh, _he_ is coming?"

Ty took a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah, he is... That's why I wasn't sure if you wanted to come or not."

The bright eyes looked away from a moment, and there was an acidic hissing noise, and then a yawn. Ty saw a gleam of sharpened fangs—slightly yellow from not being taken care of. He didn't have to see to know that there was a flat, slightly forked tongue curling up as the person yawned. "Well, I guess... As long as I get to eat."

"You will, we promise," Ty said, setting a hand closer to the grate. The eyes gravitated towards his fingers, crossing slightly. After a moment, the person sighed and looked up at him.

"You tempt me, you know that, right?"

"It's a test. If you don't snap my hand off, then I can trust you. But if you do, well..."

"Yes, yes, I know. You guys will hand me over to the government and all that shit."

Ty kept his hand from shaking as he gently pushed it through the bars. He shivered when a rough tongue slid over it, and the person sighed once more. "Well, alright," the person said, and his bright gaze turned to look up at Ty; the pupils were dilated to see well. "I'm not biting your hand off, so may I come out?"

Ty smiled slightly and nodded, standing up and taking the keys he had snatched off the wall earlier. He jiggled a few in the lock until it opened. When it did, the person sat up, bones cracking as he did so. Ty opened the door and stepped back, watching as the slightly clawed hand went up into the air in a stretch.

"I would like to thank you, though," the person said, yawning. He opened one eye as he stretched, long, colorful tail wrapped around him as he sat Indian-style. "I have not been invited to any adventure in a long time."

"I know..." Ty swallowed and hid the slight tension in his shoulders by scratching his left arm. "But come on, we don't have all day."

"Who else is coming with us?" the grey-skinned person asked, messing with his unruly, long, multicolored hair. Its original color was an inky black, but over the years he had somehow managed to permanently highlight it with an array of red hues. The same was with his tail, which had a slight plume of feathers mixed with fur at the end of it. His clothes were in a similar position, even though he didn't exactly need clothes. All he really wore was a pair of shorts with enough pockets to hold a nuclear bomb in.

"Ghost and your brother."

He visibly brightened, and immediately stood. Ty stepped back at his height, and got out of the way when he ducked through the doorway. His legs were double-jointed, with huge feet and clawed toes. He dropped down onto all fours, in the process going down to Ty's shoulders. His long (awkwardly long when he was standing) arms helped him keep balance. He almost immediately bound down the darkly lit hallway, shouting, "Brother! Brother, we are going on an adventure! Wake up."

Ty quickly followed him, not wanting to let him loose. Even after two years, not _everybody _trusted the two Primary Brothers. After their (literal) explosive entrance, and them trying to eat Seto whole, nobody really _liked _them. "Hey, wait up! I have the keys, anyway."

The Primary stopped and turned to him, ears flattening to his neck. They were long, and were the same color as his skin, but were soft to the touch and felt much like silk. (Though, nobody knew it but Ty and the other brother. They hadn't had the balls to get that close to the feral mutants.)

The Primary growled softly, but there was a happy, lopsided grin on his face. "Well, hurry, hurry!"

Ty chuckled and hurried. "I-I think he has grown lazy, though."

"I'm not lazy," the first retorted.

The second laughed and said, "Sure you are. I-I am, so that means you are."

Ty rolled his eyes and slowed to a halt at the jail door. He hesitated, though. This Brother was probably the worst of the two, but that was only when the first Brother wasn't with him. So the twins turned and called, "Ant, hey, you want to unlock it?"

Ant gave him another one of those childish grins and quickly ran over. He stood—having to uncomfortably crane his shoulders to do so—and grabbed the keys. After a few attempts, he managed to get the right one into the lock. With one firm turn, the door swung open.

"Jordan!" Ant cried, jumping on top of the nearly identical Brother. The only true different between the two was that Jordan had blue highlights on his fur, where Ant had red. "We are going on an adventure!"

Jordan gave him an identical grin, shoving him off and shouting in an excited tone, "I heard. When are we leaving?"

For a moment, Ty nearly forgot that these two had murdered countless policemen, soldiers, and generally anyone who had gotten in their way. "We're leaving in half an hour," ty said, making Jordan freeze and look over at him with darkly suspicious, acidic yellow eyes.

"You are coming, and so is Ghost?"

Ty nodded once, shaken to the core. While Ant was normally carefree and happy over anything, Jordan was more cautious and protective. He only really talked to those he trusted, and Ant. "Yes," the second twin in Ty's body answered. "We have already packed you guys some stuff, but we didn't know what you actually would need. So, I-I need you to come see if you want anything more."

Jordan's ears twitched and he glanced at Ant. For a moment, the two held the stare. Sometimes, their muscles would twitch, or their heads would tilt. It was quite obvious they were talking through telekinesis, and Ty wondered if they were deciding to eat him or not.

But then the more protective of the two Primary Brothers turned and said, "Alright, as long as we get to eat."

"Of course," Ty said, grabbing the keys out of the lock and walking away. "Come on, we don't want to keep Ghost waiting."

Ant nodded and quickly untangled his tail from Jordan's, then ran after Ty. The other brother sighed and followed, yellow eyes boring holes into the twins' head. If Ty even made _one _wrong move...

**-The Primary Brothers-**

Ghost was _not _happy when he met back with Ty, only to see the two most dangerous mutants in the entire base sitting behind him playing patty-cake.

Ant's ear twitched as he silently listened in on Ty's and Ghost's argument. He shared a glance with Jordan as they clapped their hands together. _'They are angry,' _he thought to his brother.

Jordan's left eyebrow twitched and he glanced to the group standing nearby. _'I know.'_

_'Why, bother? Is it because of us?'_

_'Sometimes, Ant,' _Jordan thought to him, scowling slightly when he messed up on their game. _'Sometimes, people can't understand.'_

Ant frowned softly, tail twitching in unease. _'Will they put us back in prison?'_

_'I will not let them. I will die before they will ever touch you, I promise.'_

Ant hummed and one of his ears twitched. Jordan's own tail curled over, settling onto Ant's.

_'Are they going to bring us or not?' _Ant asked, looking over at them again, raising an eyebrow and pausing in their patty-cake game when Ghost and Ty walked over.

Ghost heaved a big sigh, arms falling from their previous crossed positioned. He looked as if he had just lost a huge argument. "I can't beat two minds," he muttered to himself, then cleared his throat and said, "You guys can come with us, but no eating anybody."

"Alright," Jordan said, standing up and towering over the alien a good three feet. Ant stood on all fours, though, and his brother quickly followed suit. "Let's go."

"Hang on," Ty called, turning to pick up one of the three bags. This one was shaped strangely—looking like it was made for a horse. He reached up, presenting it to Jordan. "You need to carry this. Ghost and I already have our own packs."

Jordan took it, then ducked his head through the first loop, and buckled the second where it sat around his stomach. He dropped to all fours, at the same time casting a sharp glare to Sky and Tyler, who were slowly backing away. His gaze flicked over to Seto, who stood unflinching at his acidic glare. Finally, he turned to Ant and said, "Well, let's go find Bodil."

* * *

**I kinda want to post a one-shot in_ Miles and Inches _on how Jordan and Ant came to the base and everything. Should I?**

**And, they're called Primary brothers, because... Well, their eyes are yellow, and Ant has red highlight, and Jordan has blue highlights. Red, blue and yellow are primary colors. (For those of you who don't know, primary colors are colors you can't get by mixing together other colors.) And yes, I made Jordan and Ant brothers. Why? Because in every other story, they hate each other.**

**And the hunt for Bodil is _on._**

**Hope you enjoyed, guys! Thanks for reading. Leave a review, tell me what you think! Stay awesome.**

**-Cold**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so sorry this didn't happen sooner. I've been going through an existential crisis, and writing was not the top priority on my mind.**

**But anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

**-The Cursed One-**

"You think they would miss me?" Bodil wondered aloud, tripping over something and falling to the ground. "If I die...?"

_"Hmph."_

He was so completely and utterly lost. Somehow, he had gotten turned around, and now he was either walking in circles or walking towards Ten-Buck Two.

"This is going to drive me insane," he muttered after getting up. His limbs moved slowly—like he didn't really want to do anything. And, truth be told, he didn't. He was sick of traveling around, with only his cane to guide him. He needed to find shelter, or at least a village.

Because the loneliness was nagging at him. It was eating away at his subconscious, eroding it away bit by bit like the curse inside him. And no matter how many trees he revived, or how many baby birds he set back in their nest, he was starting to forget himself.

He was starting to become a robot; only putting one foot in front of the other and stumbling through the day like a half-brained zombie.

A blind zombie.

A stupid, blind, lonely zombie that had lost its pack of other zombie friends.

He missed them. He physically ached for his friends. He wanted – he wanted to go _home_.

So he stopped for a moment, leaning against his cane. After a moment, he bowed his head and muttered, "I screwed up, didn't I?"

**-The Alien-**

"He went this way, but the trail is very faint," Ant explained, padding along without any heed to the two more-human mutants swatting at flies and mosquitoes. Jordan was walking right next to him, eyes narrowed and ears twitching at every slight sound. He kept glancing over his shoulder at the two, and would smirk at their misery.

"Well, how far do you think he is?" Ghost asked grumpily, grateful that his suit covered up his body. Ty was having it bad; the bugs were eating him away, and the alien wouldn't be surprised if he was only a skeleton by the end of their journey.

So far, their two days trek through marshlands and woods only had a faint trail, which Ant had trouble following. The mutant tried his best—he really did—but Ghost was starting to lose patience.

"Far," Jordan answered for Ty, ears lifting as he stopped to sniff the air. "Very far."

"Great," Ghost muttered, kicking a pebble as he walked. "Knowing our luck, he's already captured and in a lab."

"Don't say that. Nobody's been captured ever since Mitch did, and that was years ago," Ty said, falling into step with Ghost. "And besides, it's not like Bodil can tell them the way to go, with him being blind and all. Nobody knows the way to the base, so the likelihood of someone being captured is low."

Ghost remained silent, deep in thought. For a few minutes, the four walked quietly, hopping over fallen logs or sloshing their way through mud. Then, at length, he said, "Except for Simon."

"I-I didn't think he knew-"

"Well, he does. You know those weird things he can do with his head - he's twice as smart as Albert Einstein, and twenty times stronger than an elephant. We're just lucky that he's mute and that he can't fly. If he could do either, we'd be screwed."

Ty swallowed thickly and nodded, nearly running into Ant when he stopped.

"Who is Simon?" the mutant questioned, curiosity lighting his yellow eyes like lightbulbs. "And where is he?"

"He's... in one of the testing labs that's trying to round all of us mutants up. He was born and raised there and we made the stupid mistake of setting him free and bringing him to the base, only for him to up and run back to the lab."

Jordan stopped and turned to look over his shoulder, frowning at them with narrowed eyes. Then he blinked and sniffed, and muttered, "It's getting dark. We better find shelter, before the night creatures come out."

Ghost nodded, not wanting to dwell on the subject any longer. "Alright, let's make camp for the night, then start walking again at dawn."

**-The Cursed One-**

Bodil was propped against a tree, fighting off the chill of the night with just his jacket. He hadn't been able to find any sort of shelter, and with the night quickly approaching he had given up on finding a village.

So here he was, stuck in a forest.

His eyes drooped and he yawned, stretching his arms. "I should have built a fire," he muttered, finally closing his eyes.

But then he heard the whumph whumph whumph of helicopter blades. Jumping up, Bodil grabbed his cane and sprinted away from the noise. But suddenly there were shouts and barks - oh god they had _dogs_.

Turning around and growing a wall of bushes, Bodil stumbled backwards. He enclosed himself in thorn bushes and vines; small trees grew up from the ground to help build the wall.

But the helicopter was right over him now, and he could feel the light shine down on him. Sighing, Bodil bowed his head. His cane dropped to the ground. He accepted defeat.

They would kill him. They would end it all. But maybe that was okay, since he was just a curse's host. He would eventually cause more damage than good.

But then, as they clipped a set of handcuffs around his hands - the special kind that kept him from using his abilities, he realized that they were not going to kill him.

Panic lit in Bodil's heart and he whirled, trying to smack them. But they easily pinned him to the ground. Suddenly, there was a sting in his arm.

_Needle._

_Oh god, they just put a needle in his veins._

_What was going to happen?_

_What did they stick in him?_

_Needle, needle-_

_He… He was losing his… his train of thought…_

_What- what was happening?_

_Why… Why couldn't he… move?_

_Where were…_

_Where were they taking him?_

**-Bird Boy-**

"Let me go! L-let me, let me go!"

His blue and gold-striped eyes looked up from the wall, traveling towards the seven-inch-thick glass door. Was he getting a new roommate?

He hoped not. Last time he got a roommate, they took him away and said he couldn't go back. Eventually, he had managed to escape, and had immediately run back to the lab.

But his hopes of staying alone vanished as his door slid open and someone was thrown in. He was hissing and spitting curses at the men dressed in bullet-proof vests, trying to grab a long cane from their hands.

But they quickly slammed the door closed, and the man instantly gave up. It was as if someone had just doused his flames of rebellion with a couple hundred gallons of water.

He stared at the man, frowning. He didn't seem to know the flightless half-bird sitting in the corner.

So, said half-bird cleared his throat.

The man's head snapped around, staring blindly in the direction of where he sat.

"Oh, you're blind," he murmured.

"Who's there?"

"I'm Simon," he said, shrugging one blue and yellow macaw wing. He fiddled with his tail feathers, which grew out of his lower back. Most of his skin was covered in blue, light blue, and yellow feathers. His hair was green, fading to blue at the tips. "And you?"

"I'm… Bodil."

"That's a weird name," Simon said listlessly, preening through his feathers.

"Well, I have a real name, but everybody usually uses nicknames, so people eavesdropping into our conversations don't actually know our real names," Bodil said, hugging his knees.

Simon hummed and nodded, looking him over. He didn't seem to have any physical mutations, unlike almost everybody else. "So what are you?" the bird boy asked, and the crest of green and blue feathers on the top of his head fluffed up in curiosity.

"I… What do you mean?"

"Like, what kind of mutations do you have? I know there's another blind mutant in this lab, but they can, like, mind control people."

Bodil was silent for a few moments, then said, "I can create life."

Simon raised an eyebrow, but kept his gaze locked on the newbie's foggy gaze. Bodil seemed to be staring slightly to the left of Simon. "How?"

"I can, you know, make plants grow, and bring dead things back to life," Bodil explained, holding out a hand. A flower suddenly grew from his palm, but quickly died when its roots couldn't find water or nutrients.

"Cool," Simon said, and that was it. He looked away, turning so his back faced his new roommate. His right wing unfurled so it was splayed across the small room, and his left carefully tucked itself over his body. His tail feathers curled slightly, smoothing down over his legs. He wore the normal drab, grey clothes that everybody else wore, and they weren't good at keeping out the cold.

In fact, he could hear the new mutant shivering. Simon lifted himself up slightly, frowning. "... Hey, have I ever seen you before?"

"Possibly," Bodil muttered, hugging himself. "I've been free for only a few years. I used to be in a lab, but I don't know if I was ever here."

"Well," Simon said, sitting up. He opened his mouth to continue, then hesitated. After a moment, he just said, "There's a cot to your right, just scoot along the wall and you'll find it."

"You aren't using it?"

"It reminds me of the testing tables," Simon whispered, and again turned away. His sensitive ears picked out the sound of him moving towards the cot, then the creak of its legs as he pulled himself onto it.

"I-is there a blanket?" Bodil asked, and Simon hesitated. No, there wasn't. The bird boy had never needed one, with all the feathers he had.

He cast another glance over the mutant, frowning at how weak he looked. "What were you doing when they got you?" he asked, and Bodil looked away.

"I… I was running," Bodil admitted. "I've been gone for a few months now, and I couldn't find enough food or good shelter for the past week."

"Why were you running?" Simon questioned, quietly scooting closer to him. He seemed so familiar; maybe he had been in the lab before.

"I'd rather not say," the blind mutant said, curling up on the cot. "Are you sure there aren't any blankets?"

"I'm sure," Simon said, even as he laid down next to the cot and gently set one wing over Bodil. The mutant jumped, eyes growing wide, but then stilled and tilted his head.

"You have wings?"

"With a tail, and plenty of feathers to go around, yes, I do."

"I used to know a mutant with wings," Bodil murmured, shoulders rising slightly. "He said they were yellow and blue. He always complained that feathers were starting to grow over his skin."

Simon's eyes widened, and he froze for a moment. But then he swallowed, and simply said, "Huh. Really?"

"Yeah," Bodil said, interrupted with a yawn, "But I can't remember his name. Think it started with an S or something… Oh well. And hey, thanks for the wing."

Simon chuckled slightly - probably the first time he had in a few months. "You're welcome. Anything for a friend."

_Friend._

Was that what they were? Friends? They had just met each other - right? How could they be considered friends?

But even as those thoughts bounced around in Bodil's head, he smiled. Because, for once, he actually felt kind safe.

Even if he had been captured.


End file.
